Update: SamTrans Will Accept Clipper on December 15th

Originally, SamTrans was supposed to "soft launch" on December 15th, 2010 and do a "hard launch" on February 14th, 2011, but it seems the Clipper folks have some better news...

Just released today on their Twitter stream, SamTrans will accept Clipper cards starting on Wednesday, December 15, 2010, an early holiday present for Clipper card users.

Okay, they are "soft launching" it, which means you can pay for your rides on the buses in San Mateo County, but there is one big drawback until they do their "hard launch" on Valentine's Day:

• There are very limited locations in San Mateo County to add Clipper value. The map Clipper provided shows there are only some Walgreens locations in San Mateo County, and they are all near Caltrain stations.

One big benefit to add SamTrans to the Clipper card family is Caltrain passengers with monthly passes can benefit with the inter-agency agreement, as long as the Caltrain pass user has at least two zones on their card. The drawback is that since VTA is not yet Clipper ready (another agency with an inter-agency agreement with Caltrain).

While Clipper will be accepted on SamTrans starting December 15th, this is a time to also pay careful attention to your usage. This is their first public usage for the agency, and you need to make sure your fare is being deducted correctly, or if using the Caltrain pass (with two or more zones) that your e-cash purse is not being deducted.

Until Clipper releases information on their website about SamTrans usage, there is no way to know how Clipper will handle selling passes and how to be properly charged for the bus lines that costs more than the $2 adult local fare.

Lastly: Don't forget, BART's EZ Rider card will not work starting December 15th. If you did not cancel your EZ Rider account, do so soon.